I have always thought that the best suggestion we have for the wording "exactly 3.45" is indeed that Paul heard a nearby clock chime the quarter stroke.

At the inquest, Paul said "I am a carman, and on the morning of the murder I left home just before a quarter to four." That is totally consistent with him having had knowledge that he was in Bucks Row as the clock chimed.

That leaves us with the four minute estimation: "Not more than four minutes had elapsed from the time he first saw the woman."
To begin with, I would say that I do not think that Pauls word were grounded in a second reading of a clock. The reason for this is that if this had been the case, then he could have been sure of the time, and he would reasonably have said something like "Four minutes had passed" - he would have the exact knowledge (or think he had - if he had looked at two different clocks, they could have been unsynchronized), and not "Not more than...", which is clearly an estimation.
So how could he estimate it? Well, I myself had the same route to work for twentyfive years. And I knew exactly how long time it would take for me to get home from different observation points along the road; Passing the Landskrona crossroads, I had fifteen minutes home, from the restaurant at Glumslöv, I had ten minutes to home, from the place where I left the highway, I had a little less than four minutes to home, and so on.
If Paul knew these timings after having walked to work for a number of years, then he may have judged the distance, thinking that it normally took a certain time to cover, and then he concluded how long it would have taken given the circumstances of the murder night.

Hi David
Isn't a quarter past 4 4:15? How does this jibe with 3:45? Confused.

Yes, you are quite right Abby. That was an error in the Times which I repeated.

This is from the Daily Telegraph:

"Police-constable Mizen said that at a quarter to four o'clock on Friday morning he was at the crossing, Hanbury-street, Baker's-row, when a carman who passed in company with another man informed him that he was wanted by a policeman in Buck's-row, where a woman was lying. When he arrived there Constable Neil sent him for the ambulance. At that time nobody but Neil was with the body."

Yes, you are quite right Abby. That was an error in the Times which I repeated.

This is from the Daily Telegraph:

"Police-constable Mizen said that at a quarter to four o'clock on Friday morning he was at the crossing, Hanbury-street, Baker's-row, when a carman who passed in company with another man informed him that he was wanted by a policeman in Buck's-row, where a woman was lying. When he arrived there Constable Neil sent him for the ambulance. At that time nobody but Neil was with the body."

Ok thanks!

__________________"Is all that we see or seem
but a dream within a dream?"
-Edgar Allan Poe

"...the man and the peaked cap he is said to have worn
quite tallies with the descriptions I got of him."
-Frederick G. Abberline

Did public clocks in Whitechapel even strike the quarter hour during the middle of the night? I rather doubt it.

John Davis got up at 5.45 on the morning of the 8:th of September, and he said that he was certain of that time as he had heard the clock in Christchurch strike the quarter hour. That much resembles what Paul said.
Christchurch, of course, was around 800 yards or so from Bucks Row. But if Christchurch chimed every quarter hour, I don´t see why other churches could not have done the same - it was an era when there was a need for such things to help out with the timekeeping.
If you are suggesting that the clocks did not strike in the earlier hours, it would be nice to see some evidence for that.

I have always thought that the best suggestion we have for the wording "exactly 3.45" is indeed that Paul heard a nearby clock chime the quarter stroke.

At the inquest, Paul said "I am a carman, and on the morning of the murder I left home just before a quarter to four." That is totally consistent with him having had knowledge that he was in Bucks Row as the clock chimed.

That leaves us with the four minute estimation: "Not more than four minutes had elapsed from the time he first saw the woman."
To begin with, I would say that I do not think that Pauls word were grounded in a second reading of a clock. The reason for this is that if this had been the case, then he could have been sure of the time, and he would reasonably have said something like "Four minutes had passed" - he would have the exact knowledge (or think he had - if he had looked at two different clocks, they could have been unsynchronized), and not "Not more than...", which is clearly an estimation.
So how could he estimate it? Well, I myself had the same route to work for twentyfive years. And I knew exactly how long time it would take for me to get home from different observation points along the road; Passing the Landskrona crossroads, I had fifteen minutes home, from the restaurant at Glumslöv, I had ten minutes to home, from the place where I left the highway, I had a little less than four minutes to home, and so on.
If Paul knew these timings after having walked to work for a number of years, then he may have judged the distance, thinking that it normally took a certain time to cover, and then he concluded how long it would have taken given the circumstances of the murder night.

That, at least, is my five cents.

Hi Christer,
Thanks for the input.
My only issue on the estimation is 4 minutes. If he had said less than 5 I would be perfectly happy. I agree with you on repeated journeys, but it's that use of 4 which just grates with me.

I notice no-one has commented on his possible use of a watch. Apart from the cost is there any reason to exclude the possibility.

Hi Christer,
Thanks for the input.
My only issue on the estimation is 4 minutes. If he had said less than 5 I would be perfectly happy. I agree with you on repeated journeys, but it's that use of 4 which just grates with me.

I notice no-one has commented on his possible use of a watch. Apart from the cost is there any reason to exclude the possibility.

Thanks to all so far.

Stev

If he had had a clock, then why would he say "no more than four minutes"? To me, that is an estimation. With a clock, he could have said "It took three and a half minutes" - he would know, and would not have to estimate.

As I said, the more aquainted with a stretch you are, the more precisely you will be able to judge how long it takes to cover. If Paul knew that it was a question of no more than four minutes, saying "no more than five minutes" would take away from the exactness the lower offer would provide.

If he had had a clock, then why would he say "no more than four minutes"? To me, that is an estimation. With a clock, he could have said "It took three and a half minutes" - he would know, and would not have to estimate.

As I said, the more aquainted with a stretch you are, the more precisely you will be able to judge how long it takes to cover. If Paul knew that it was a question of no more than four minutes, saying "no more than five minutes" would take away from the exactness the lower offer would provide.

Your points are fair, am just looking for all the arguments on possible reasons for what was claimed, my particular interest is the clash of timings with Neil.,

I see one possible issue with the 4 minutes estimate, if we assume that Paul was indeed late and he was hurrying, would he not be walking faster than normal?
If so, would that not mean that his estimates are wrong, as they are based on his normal walking speed? Or was he in reality walking at his normal pace?

All questions Christer which I think we cannot answer with any degree of certainty.

Your points are fair, am just looking for all the arguments on possible reasons for what was claimed, my particular interest is the clash of timings with Neil.,

I see one possible issue with the 4 minutes estimate, if we assume that Paul was indeed late and he was hurrying, would he not be walking faster than normal?
If so, would that not mean that his estimates are wrong, as they are based on his normal walking speed? Or was he in reality walking at his normal pace?

All questions Christer which I think we cannot answer with any degree of certainty.

Steve

The estimates need not be wrong, I think; if he knew that he covered a stretch in four minutes of normal walking, then he could easily say that it was no more than four minutes if he knew that he had hurried.